Blood
Chapter 92: Due Date
A/N: 200 favorites! Very, very cool! Thanks everyone!
The touch of the sun was cool as he strode from the forest into the open road. It was early in the morning, bright with the new day, as people idled the street before him, milling around the edges of the town center up ahead. Normal people doing normal things on a normal day.
That was as much thought Gero spared for them as he started walking forward. He was sure now — they were coming to his lab. His sensors had whispered faint at first. In the last hour it was no longer deniable. So he had left his lab.
A child scurried past Gero, oblivious to him and the world, swinging a stick. 19 was very nearly done — so close — but needed but a few more hours. Gero needed time — he always needed time — to prepare his punishment. So what was there left to do?
'Sir?' A man with stretched, creased skin around his eyes swung into Gero's vision. 'Are ya lost, or?...'
Gero's eyes swiveled to him. 'Why do you ask?'
'Well, uh…' The man scanned him head-to-toe. 'Ya don't look like you're from around, and ya jus' standing there, so…'
'So I am.' Gero lifted a hand towards him. 'Please remain motionless for a moment.'
'Huh?'
In a flash Gero's body slid forward like a slab of rock, not a single joint or limb moving separately from the whole, hand wrapping and wringing around the man's neck. Gero's participant gagged, eyes bulging — and then the color and flesh drained from him, husking him, and like a faded ribbon fell out of Gero's grip and folded onto the ground. Screams, from somewhere.
Gero sneered as he flexed his right hand. A glow drained from a dot of red glass at the center of his palm. A pitiful amount of energy. But the diode works as intended. So skin-to-skin contact was effective — the real question would be whether they would absorb energy attacks launched from a distance. If only he had more time…
More screaming; a tiring amount. Gero's hand straightened, rose, and faced the half of the town to his right. He released a pulse — and the landscape was flattened by fire and raging coils of pink energy, burrowing into the earth for miles.
It would fall onto him to stall. The rest of his creations beyond 19 were either too rudimental or unfinished to be any use in the coming battle. So — him, 19, and Raditz. That would be enough. It had to be.
Gero dropped his hand and saw the carnage he had wrought. That would do. Lead them here, then somewhere else, and on and on and on. It would do. He lifted into the sky and flew off.
0o0o0
Standing or sitting on blood-colored crags on the side of a hill, Piccolo and Tien started and whipped their attention to the western sky, followed by Yajirobe a split-second later.
'An entire town,' Tien said quickly. 'Gone.'
'...And I didn't feel any sort of use of ki,' Piccolo murmured. 'How is that possible?'
Rocks skittered down from upslope. 'Androids don't have ki like you or me,' Traveler explained, sliding down to them. 'They use something artificial — some generator, core, or battery.'
'So we won't be able to sense them,' Piccolo groused. 'Great.'
Traveler paused to squint at the sky. 'In any case, the lab isn't here.'
'How far are we through your list?' Tien asked.
'About a third. We should find Gero's base soon. Very soon. All of the remaining locations are located in the same geographic area — the mountains near North City.'
'But you felt that?' Piccolo questioned. 'That town being destroyed? That was an Android, wasn't it?'
'It's likely.'
Tien huffed. 'Then we need to go. Screw the list — screw the fact that it's probably a trap, or a distraction.'
'That's likely as well,' Traveler commented. Still, he studied the western horizon, face a mask. 'Alright.' He spoke up. 'Let's go.'
A silent glance passed between Piccolo and Tien.
'Alright then!' Yajirobe shouted from behind them. 'He thrust his arms into the air. 'Grab me and let's move!'
Tien stifled a grunt. 'Sure…'
0o0o0
From a kneel Chi-Chi rose from the ground, hands reluctantly letting go of the soft, verdant grass. All around her the trees hummed with the breeze, the stream sparkled and shone — the natural world filling what was otherwise a deathly quiet valley and cottage.
There were no clues left behind. Doors and drawers and even half-made meals — now spoiling — were left ajar or unfinished, as if they were meant to be left alone for a few minutes and not what must have been days. Were they hiding? Unlikely. Run away? Maybe, but from who? Gero? But if she had squared the timeline right… they must have left at the same time she was fighting Wheelo and Yamcha and Bulma were fleeing West City. Did Gero have the ability to strike at three separate places? Or, someone else?...
Too many possibilities, ambiguity. Far more than she could stomach. All she knew for certain that Krillin, Rayne, and Maron — and Gohan — were not here.
'Mom?'
She looked up: Rush was standing on the house's threshold, half his body beyond the door, half inside, waving at her to approach. Tucking away her frown, she rose from the grass and entered.
He sat at a table at the edge of the first room, taking care not to scratch or scrape the wood floor.
'Is Rush your real name?'
She had said it without thinking — she was just as surprised as he looked. 'What?' Rush asked.
'...if you're okay answering that,' she hedged. 'But, I assume… if you didn't tell us exactly who you were when we first met…'
His face dissolved into something sadder, more unhappy. 'I'm… well…'
'I'll… admit,' Chi-Chi said, summoning some warmness into her voice, 'I'm curious what future me picked for a name.'
A dark cloud seemed to hang on Rush's features. He shook his head, then again, until he covered his eyes with his hands.
Chi-Chi's hand hesitated near him. 'Are you alright?'
'...I… I didn't tell the full story. I mean — to them.' He struggled to speak. 'You're probably thinking… what I said to everyone… is true to a point.' His haggard gaze landed on her. 'I was born on Earth, I was taken from it… but I don't think it was you who took me from here… and what I said about Gero was true.' His hands wormed into his skin. 'Before. Way before. About him taking me…' his voice pinched. '...experimenting on me!...'
A flush of air made Chi-Chi's hands spring to his soldiers. 'You're okay,' she comforted him. 'Just… keep calm. I'm here. No one else.' She hoped. She paused. '...I'm your mother, and…'
'My memory,' Rush said sharply. 'My memory is… all broken and mixed up, like a hand sifting through sand. Some facts…' He held his head. 'No matter how hard I think... ' He breathed. 'I know that I was taken from Earth, then taken back from Gero. I know Gero did… things to me. And I know I came back to the Earth, looking for him and anything that could help me feel… whole.'
She wasn't trying to be cruel or suspicious — not to the shuddering person in front of her — but she couldn't deny that she felt it. Not knowing where Gohan was was getting to her, she thought. Eating away at her peace of mind. Her security. 'Rush,' she said, slower, 'this is the third time you've changed your story to me. First you were a pupil of Yamcha's. Then you were an escapee of Gero's. Then you're my time-traveling son… and now you're that and an escapee again.' She paused, then shifted to another approach. 'I'm your mother. You can trust me. Any secrets you have. Something you don't want to tell anyone.' She sat in a chair next to him. 'Stuff you wouldn't want to tell Yamcha, even.'
He hadn't said a word by the time she leaned on the table and placed a light hand on his shoulder. 'Anything, Rush. Really.'
'I… I don't want to be like this,' He said between his fingers. 'I don't want to be so… unreliable. I'm telling you everything I possibly can, every fact—' He swung to her. 'And I'll do anything to prove to you that you can trust me. Anything. I don't... ' He closed his eyes, shook his head. 'I don't want to be like that other person, Traveler. I want to be honest. Open. Equal with you.'
To be truthful, she liked the sound of that. She was tired of secrets. She wanted to know where Gero was, where her son was, where her friends were, who the teetering man in front of her really was, and also—
'Tell me, Rush: is Raditz alive?'
0o0o0
The world beyond the window was damp, dull, like a washed-out sheet, grey and muggy from an on-and-off storm. He couldn't see another nearby peak or the village he knew laid at this mountain's base. His sight went as far as the mists.
He had woken up better — not perfect, or good, or even okay, but better than the confusion he had been feeling previously. That haze… it still lingered on the edge of his consciousness, trimming at the edges of his thoughts. That and the bound linen around his right arm made it clear: he was lucky to be alive.
Snoring away in the massive chair on the room's other side, the Ox-King had been the first person he had saw; after shouting him awake, he got Yamcha up to speed. First and foremost he wanted to speak to Chi-Chi. But… considering she wasn't on hand...
At the edge of his vision Bulma straightened out the sheets near her, over Yamcha's feet. 'You're comfortable?' She asked, sitting in a chair next to his bed.
'As much as I can be.' He studied the room: this had been a storeroom, from what he remembered. If he was in here… 'Are there a lot of people in the castle right now?'
She nodded. 'Ox-King didn't tell you? There's me, you, Chi-Chi, Rush —'
Yamcha lifted his left hand. 'I remember now,' he said, frowning. 'Slipped my mind for a second…'
'Hey—' Bulma made eye-contact. 'Don't push yourself. Not after what you did — for me.'
He stared at her until his left hand had to be pressed to his temple to try and aim his thoughts. In her eyes… 'There's something we need to discuss, isn't there?'
She made a sore face. 'How'd you tell?'
'You have that look.'
'What look?'
'The look of when you know you're about to make my day worse.'
'Hm!' Bulma stifled a laugh. 'That's… no, I think you've got it mixed up. I'm about to make my day worse, not yours.'
'Yeah?' Yamcha laid his left hand on his cast. 'Shoot.'
She made another face — pinched — and smoothed out her pants. 'Do you remember what happened in West City?'
'It's not distinct.'
'…But Ox-King told you about what happened after you saved me, right?'
'He said you cared for me.'
'On an island, yes. There…' Her gaze drifted. 'I realized what we had is over, Yamcha. I want you to know that. Before then I was confused — and now I'm not. Okay? You and Chi-Chi… yeah.'
Yamcha squinted past her, or through her— Bulma couldn't directly tell. 'Chi-Chi…' he mumbled. 'Yeah.' He blinked. 'Yeah. And you.'
She tried to make sense of the haze surrounding his eyes. '...Did you forget?'
'My memories are all… tangled,' he said, looking forlorn. 'Hard to keep things in a straight line. What came before what.' He refocused his attention on her. 'You know, there was a time—'
'And that time's passed,' Bulma cut him off, standing, walking to the other side of the room. She chose the far wall and leaned on it. 'So all I really wanted to say was… thank you for giving me those years of your life. They were wonderful, just like you.'
Bulma closed her eyes. 'And that's it. All I wanted to say— about that, anyway.'
Yamcha remained silent. He… though he knew what she was saying. He wasn't sure, though… but there would be time to ask, later.
'In any case,' Bulma said, opening her eyes and smiling tightly at him, 'there are a few other things you should know… if you're well enough, that is.'
His face wormed from some felt unease or pain. 'Go ahead.'
'...Do you remember Raditz?'
It was like a spike being driven through his spine; his body clenched and sprang like a clock wound too tight, gasping, fingers clawing through the sheets.
'Yamcha?' Bulma hurried to his side. 'Are you—'
'I don't feel well,' He said abruptly. 'Tired. Could we talk later?'
'Do you want me to bring in Ox-King?'
'No,' he said, worming away from her, 'no, just — just let me have a minute to myself. You can send him after that.'
She frowned at him — but pulled away all the same. 'Alright.' She came to the door, edged around it, and peeked at him from the hallway. 'Be well, Yamcha.'
0o0o0
Their makeshift cell, if unpleasant before, was unbearable considering his father's mood. Kakarot would have given anything to go anywhere else but here. But they were prisoners and consigned to their cell and their seats against cold metal walls with their legs underneath a cold metal table as Bardock considered breaking everything he could see. The walls, and the table, and the machine that ground out green goop, and even the sliding door.
Or at least that's what Kakarot thought he saw in his father. He couldn't imagine what else his radiating rage could be used for in this circumstance.
'Bastards,' Bardock hissed. 'Bastards, all of them.'
That must have been the third or fourth time he had uttered some variation of that; Kakarot didn't know what to say to it at this point. His father was in his own world.
Maybe it wasn't right for Kakarot to feel this way — to not feel upset like his father. But he had been the one to tell him that he thought Raditz had died, only for his father to disbelieve him. He said he was in Hell, after all, and he hadn't seen anyone like his son. For years and years...
'Dad?' Kakarot spoke softly, eyes closed, sighing. 'How long were you in hell? Waiting for Raditz?'
Bardock's shoulders were knotted as he leaned back, face ugly. He didn't speak for a moment. 'You know,' he said. 'A long time.'
'Since you had died?'
'Yeah.'
'And that was a long time ago.'
Kakarot watched the tension pool in his father's face before dispersing to the rest of his body. Neither of them was sure how long they had been in hell — there wasn't anything there to track the passing of time by. There was no setting sun, no change in weather or temperature: it was all the same, unendingly, endlessly, until the people there ceased to be people. Until their souls had worn down and joined the spiritual well subsisting that place.
Or at least, that's how Kakarot understood it from his time there and what his father had told him. And he believed his father considering he must have spent decades there, waiting… holding out in case his sons met an early death.
For once he knew how his father felt. If Raditz had died and he hadn't found him in hell...
'I'm sorry, dad,' Kakarot said. He tried — unsuccessfully — to find his father's gaze. 'I'm sorry about this.'
Bardock breathed slowly. 'Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault — to me, at least.'
'...Right.'
'Hah.'
Kakarot turned — the last person he would have expected had stepped into the room. As the door closed behind him he flaunted an insufferable grin. 'Got you too, huh?'
Bardock knew that voice: his brow twitched, though he didn't speak. His son, however, did. 'Turles?'
The near-copy of him brandished a smile and at the head of the metal table between them, closest to the door. 'How the mighty have fallen.'
'Shut up,' Bardock said, voice subdued.
'Or what? Gonna punch me? Your jailors gonna allow that, huh?'
Kakarot kept a steeled face. 'They captured you, too.'
'So what?' Turles snarled. 'Doesn't mean they're gonna boss me around. I've got my own plans, places to be.'
'Shut up.'
'Why are you so pissed, anyway?'
'Shut up.' Bardock growled, eyes flashing open. 'Why are you even here?'
'Why do you think? They caught me.'
'Last time I saw you, you were face-down and bleeding out into the dirt.'
'...' Turles scowled as he scratched behind one of his ears. 'It's not super clear in my mind. But I think Vegeta and his mule took me from the planet… to somewhere else… and now I'm here.'
'You don't even remember being captured?' Bardock asked earnest — and then found his jeering tone. 'And here I thought you were so strong.'
Wordless Turles sat in the room's corner, legs pushing against theirs under the table, and peacefully closed his eyes. 'Whatever.'
'Hey.' Kakarot was staring at Turles, mulling something over. 'Tell me: are you spying on us for them?'
'Hah! What?' Turles snorted. 'Yeah, fat chance of that happening. I hate them as much as you—'
He stopped, wriggled his face, and then sat up, eyes white. 'Oh yeah. That's right.' He looked at Kakarot. 'Lean in.'
'What?'
'Just lean in. They… listen,' he added, quiet.
…'Alright.' Kakarot tipped his ear towards. He frowned, then looked quizzical, and finally leaned back, considering. 'He wants to do a thing,' he told his father.
'What kind of thing?'
'The thing where we'll be eating real meals again,' Turles rubbed his fist into his palm. 'The thing — take the ship for ourselves.'
0o0o0
He had expected — wanted solitude. His mind was foggy; his body ached. But if he had learned anything about Bulma, it was that she could completely and utterly surprise him. So he was muted when she walked into his room, face dour, and sat in the chair beside his bed. Thinking, but saying nothing.
'I found Raditz after the battle in West City, took him, and then someone else took him from me. So ask me questions,' Bulma instructed him, folding her arms and legs — making herself comfortable. 'About anything. About Raditz, or about West City — anything. Or, you can ask me nothing.'
Her gaze held on him, like a calm light searching his face. He turned away for a moment. 'Raditz... he was dead, right?'
'What do you mean?
'...' He grimaced at his lap. 'I've never told anyone this. Years ago, when I had the chance… I didn't kill him. I left him to die from his injuries.' His face, folded, turned to Bulma. 'Please, tell me: was he dead when you found him?'
'He was.'
The tension — all of the color and creasing and ugliness — drained from his face. '...Thank Kami,' he said, closing his eyes. 'If I had left him live… after…' he sighed. 'He asked me to kill him. I didn't. I left him to bleed out instead.'
Bulma remained silent. She let him speak. She had no questions left to ask; it was important that the same became true for him.
'...You think we're going to have to fight him?'
He had settled more easily against the pillow behind him; he looked almost meditative.
'...I don't know,' Bulma admitted. 'There's more to what I said… but the details are murky. We won't know until it happens.'
'Right,' Yamcha said bitterly. 'That seems to be true no matter how many time travelers we get.'
Bulma arched a brow. 'You're talking about Traveler and Rush?'
He nodded. 'Ox-King told me the basics. It's all so… frustrating. Like the truth is always out of reach…' His eyes gravitated to the window and the misty mountain expanse beyond. 'Like trying to see through these mists…'
She made a note that he appeared healthier — both in mind and body. Of course his right arm was what it was in its cast — but he sat straighter and gazed clearer. She hoped his path from here on out would be easy. If she was being honest: she wasn't sure if his sacrifice had been worth it, considering everything she could do to help...
'Bulma.'
'Hmm?'
'Promise me one thing.'
'What?'
His hand, a second before resting at his side, blinked forward and held itself to her shoulder — like a pillar supporting them both. His eyes swam. 'You need to get back on your feet. For both of us. You see things others don't… you know more, and you know what to do with that. So you need to keep yourself safe and your hands busy. If you don't feel comfortable here, or you think there's someplace else where you'll better off at, then go. Leave.'
She folded her limbs again — not to present a picture of calm, but to stop her own emotions from welling to the surface. 'Where would I go, Yamcha? West City…' A hollowness circled Bulma's face. 'My parents…'
'I don't know,' he said. 'I don't know what you can do where you can go — but there has to be someplace where you can do something? I don't like you… holding yourself in place for the sake of others. You need to be doing something active.' His hand left her. 'Okay?'
'Are you sure you're alright, Yamcha?'
His weak frown floated onto his face again. 'I feel a little lightheaded,' he admitted. 'But I feel sure of what I've said.' He paused, parsing what he saw on her face. 'Don't worry about me. Don't worry about everyone here. Just… figure out what you need to do to help, and do it.'
She drew back — because if she didn't, she'd been moving forward, to him — and that was the exact opposite of what he'd just said — wanted. Her hands wrapped around each other as she stood and pushed the chair to the bed's side.
'And if I came back?' she asked, eyes muted. 'With a lab's worth of tools and supplies to do work with?'
'Then I'd welcome you back with open arms. Cast included.'
'Cast included,' she repeated. 'Fair enough.' She balanced on her feet. 'Time for a walk, then.'
'You're leaving?'
She crossed the room and stopped in the doorway. 'I'll tell you if I do.'
An hour passed and she intended to; but by then she was at the mountain's base, testing the handles on her electric scooter, and figured it would take too long to climb and descend the mountain again before nightfall. Ox-King knew, anyway — she'd said as much to him as she left through Fire Mountain's mighty front door. So she left.
0o0o0
Smoke hung heavy on the land, clinging to it like vines wrapping in and out of the earth. They held their position in the air, watching, waiting — but mostly thinking.
'Are you sure you want to go down there?' Piccolo asked. 'We'd probably be better served by staying on the perimeters and watching for any movement in or out.'
Traveler's right hand flexed. 'We won't be able to sense the Androids. Sight will be our only way to find them.' He pulled his arm back. 'So, unfortunately, we don't have a choice.'
Yajirobe wriggled in Tiens' arms. 'Hold me!' he cried.
From where they were a huge gale — ki thrown into the air by Traveler — spun down to the ground, carving away the veil of smoke and revealing a ruined town below. Small fires dotted the stone and wooden remains, roads were upturned, and most glaringly, there was a massive gouge scored in the earth running straight towards one of the mountains surrounding the valley.
In silence they descended, auras waving in the wind, until all four of them had their feet on the ground near the edge of town. From here it was even more obvious how much had been leveled — which, while sobering, would make it easier for them to sweep the area.
Before them he landed and sifted his hand through the rubble strewn at his feet. It was warm; hot even. This was recent. Traveler straightened. Very recent.
'They're here.' Traveler's aura kicked up again. 'One of the Androids — I'm sure of it.'
They formed a quick circle, back-to-back, and scanned the landscape. There was little wind in the valley at present, and anything that moved meant it was moving of its own accord.
So Yajirobe was surprised to notice it first. 'Look,' he pointed north, to the valley's entrance. 'There's still smoke — and it's rising.' He paused. 'Do you hear that?'
That sound was audible for only a few more seconds as metal crested a nearby ridge and screamed down the slope, tracks pressing into the dirt, grass clumps torn apart, turrets swinging back-and-forth. All-in-all twenty tanks rolled to the edge of what had been the town — and at the front was a pompous-looking general, leering at all he saw, then them.
'Halt!' He screamed into his corded receiver, blaring his voice out from speakers attached to the top of his tank. 'No one is to leave this area — you are all under the arrest of the World Government!'
They folded out into a line. 'What's this?' Traveler asked.
'Dunno,' Piccolo said. 'Maybe they think—'
'Surrender now or face our munitions!' The general screamed into his receiver. 'I will not ask a second time?'
'We're not surrendering, right?' Yajirobe asked.
'Not while the Androids are still around,' Piccolo said.
Traveler stepped forward, scanning the row of tanks. Nothing dangerous to them — and, obviously, nothing any one of them couldn't take care of. He considered what could work. Maybe he could blast together a barrier of rock to protect them. Or maybe detaching their turrets was the best approach. Either way—
'Heeyyy!' Tien's third eye caught a slightest shift in the wind from the west — and Traveler, moving faster than any of them could, rocketed forward and bodied a pink blast of energy coming from a nearby ridge, throwing it into the air. Singing, fuming, his gaze swept the slope — and spotted a dot jump up and beyond the valley's edge.
'After them!' he shouted, rocketing into the air and followed seconds later by a frantically flying Tien, Piccolo, and Yajirobe.
'Meeeen!' The general bellowed into his hand. 'Fi—'
He swung right with his turret in the direction the fugitives had fled — but they were nowhere to be seen. Veins, muscles, and skin twitched like a hundred different heartbeats.
'Well!?' He shouted, stomping something inside the tank. 'What are yer' doing!' His turret swung to the rest of his command. 'Get going!' He swung his pistol forward. 'After 'em! For the King!'
There was still that hesitation in his soldiers' eyes — the fear of chasing after someone or something that had vanished. But their commander knew better. He knew who had trained them… he upped his glower... what was drilled into them!...
'F-for the king!' A soldier echoed, palm shooting to his forehead in a salute before ducking back into his tank. 'Y-yeah!' A rapid chorus followed him. 'For the King! Rah!'
The general, eyes wary, holstered his pistol and settled back against the turret's rim as the tank under him lurched into motion — towards the enemy who destroyed this town, or the fugitives, or whoever it was they were chasing. 'Rah, rah…'
0o0o0
The air started stinging from how fast they were flying. 'Piccolo!' Tien shouted, twisting forward with Yajirobe in his arms. 'Can you see him?'
'...I've lost him!' Piccolo started slowing, then rapidly scanned the area below them. 'Damn it. We'll have to land.'
He spotted a small flat clearing of rock on the edge of a thin forest. 'Down there!'
Auras curving through the air, the three landed, Yajirobe last, and caught their breath. Sweat dripped from Tien and Piccolo's faces as they hunched over.
'...He really flies fast,' Piccolo breathed. 'Faster than I thought possible.'
'That seems to be his theme,' Tien said, lifting his head. 'Making us look like fools.'
'Where do you think he's gone?'
'He's probably still chasing. That, or…'
'Or?'
'There was only one location left to check for Gero's lab.'
'I'm afraid you'll never get that far.'
The air coiled, sprung as both of them turned back, heads wrenching, eyes straining, searching — and landing on a curiously dressed man with red script and symbol engraved into his talk and round black hat, striding out from the trees as idly as a simple traveler. Far behind them, sword rattling in his scabbard, Yajirobe dived into a nearby bush.
The world seemed to bend and pool on Gero as he stepped forward onto the hill path. 'I'm not sure how you've discovered the location of my lab… but it matters not.' Calmly, he turned his hat much like a screw until a click was heard. 'Both of you will die here,' One foot drew back, another turned, and his arms jutted from his body like spears. 'Both of you will know pain for ruining my designs!'
0o0o0
'G-Guys?' Yajirobe shouted from the bush, '-I think that—'
Purple wristbands, weighing heavier than entire buildings, crashed into the dirt near him, forcing him deeper into the forest. 'Stay out-of-sight, Yajirobe,' Piccolo said.
'W-what?'
'Intervene if you get a clear shot, understand? You need to stay safe until you get that chance.'
Yajirobe gulped. 'Alright…'
Tien slowly paced to Piccolo's left, moving down the length of the forest to their right — towards their enemy. 'Keeping him out of harm's way?' He asked, eyes narrowing on Gero.
'He can't fly. If anything, until he decides to make a move, he'll get in our way.'
'You don't sound confident.'
Piccolo held a hand to the side of his neck and snapped it. 'I never cared much for him or his laziness.'
'So.' Gero — his cold gaze — waited at the other end of the clearing. 'You're sending one away? Is he running, perhaps?' His eyes relaxed. 'Ah, but it matters not. Regardless of what he's doing, once I dispose of you two, I may hunt him down at my leisure.'
Piccolo dug his heels into the earth. 'You misunderstand, Gero. We're sparing him the sight of what you'll become.'
'Yes, yes.' The android's head turned like a metal joint, eyes darting between Tien and Piccolo. 'Bravado and such. Poor souls. I imagine the news of West City hasn't gotten around yet.'
Tien halted. 'What?'
'Who was it?' Gero blankly stared at him. 'Ah, yes. Bulma Briefs, and her friend, Yamcha.' Gero placed a considering hand on his jaw. 'Or perhaps more than friends? The records available to me would suggest that a mere acquaintance wouldn't throw away his life—'
A wave of wind slashed across the valley, tensing Piccolo's growing aura. Near the forest's edge in front of him, Tien and Gero had momentarily locked together forearm-to-forearm — but Tien and his yellow aura quickly surged back, sparks tearing up the ground below him.
The android appraised him. 'Rude.'
'And Chiaotzu?' Tien shouted. 'Do you have any lies to tell about him? How he died?!'
Tien. Piccolo spoke into his mind. Remember the plan of attack. And while you're talking to him… The Namekian closed his eyes, subtly dragging his energy to the surface — ...I'll prepare to end this before it starts—
Without warning the rocky land in front of him exploded, showering Piccolo in shards — and through the storm Gero plunged, eyes furious, body shaking. 'DO YOU TAKE ME A FOR A FOOL!' He had one hand, glowing pink, braced. 'I won't give you the chance to power-up!'
Scalding pink light erupted with a thrust, swarming the rock around Piccolo and drilling into the earth, and Gero dodged to the side just quick enough to avoid a diving kick from Tien. He braced his arms as three quick, red-tinged blows rained against his guard, then ducked and sped higher into the air, getting a better view of the battlefield.
Tien didn't follow. More than that — below, within the pinkish smoke below, a form coalesced. 'Mark my words, Gero!' Piccolo shouted, his voice augmented with ki to clear the debris from the air. In the full view of the day his brilliant deep azure aura blazed in the sunlight, blazing like a flame for all the world to see. More power than Gero anticipated. But not beyond his preparations.
The Namekian threw off his cowl into a nearby gouge in the ground and flashed skyward, sharp face slashing into the air. 'You die today!'
A/N: This chapter ended up being a lot shorter than I thought it'd be, so… yeah! Next chapter is going to start a LONG run of fight chapters, though. Stay tuned.
Reviews:
Takee Cobb: Traveler has not yet been revealed, nope. Keep guessing!
The Rocha: You have a ton of interesting comments in here. While I would love to engage with every one of them, they are SPOILERY! But remind me to look at the total sum of your theories when we get to the FULL REVEAL.
Also, me saying anything about TORA is spoilers, friend.
the1andonlyLucian: You may or may not be right about Rush. All I can say is read and find out!
Anonymous: I 100% agree with everything you said about ki sensing. Robs the characters of perfect information, which makes any story boring. Also notice how I only mentioned 19 has specific ki-sensing tools.
Yeah, by the end of this story, I'm going to have a lot of good short story in-universe ideas!
Bulma didn't necessarily deduce she was supposed to die. More like Rush was apologizing for withholding information about Yamcha that would have led to Bulma dying. I might have made a type last chapter, though.
Fixed the typo you pointed out, though!
Transformers g1's-Prime: Interesting theory, and thank for the compliment! I'd like to think the writing keeps getting better and better!
ALSO interesting theory about TORA!
Cityracer: You're noticing VERY interesting things with Traveler's timeline.
Yeah, Rush is suspicious… but, he's also wormed his way into Yamcha and Chi-Chi's circle, and if people were doubtful, they're not exactly in the position to be questioning him at the moment after a draining fight. Especially when the only source of information to make them doubt him was suspicious in the first place and is months removed from their lives.
Interesting theory about Traveler!
Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything you said about Bulma / Yamcha and their characterization. Toriyama's laziness / lack of foresight hurt their depictions.
